Mikel John Obi left Chelsea to ensure his readiness for Nigeria

Mikel John Obi recently joined Chinese Super League side Tianjin Teda after 10 years with Chelsea. The need to maintain match fitness for his duties as Nigeria’s captain strongly influenced his decision.

Mikel John Obi doubled his wages and brought his playing time above zero by leaving Chelsea for Tianjin Teda. He had six months remaining on his contract when he accepted the transfer to the Chinese Super League.

While the money certainly enticed him, Mikel noted that he had a solid footballing reason for a midseason transfer. He is Nigeria’s team captain, and the Super Eagles need him to be match ready for the next set of World Cup qualifiers.

"I could easily have stayed in Chelsea for the remaining six months of my contract but it won’t be in the best interest of my nation, as they need me match fit when the World Cup 2018 qualifiers resume. – OwnGoalNigeria"

Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2015 and 2017 African Cup of Nations tournaments is a sore point for Mikel and the Super Eagles. Nigeria won the tournament for the third time in 2013 and won the bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. AFCON gets underway without the Super Eagles on Saturday. Mikel is determined to not let his country miss another international tournament.

"I seriously need matches to stay fit for Nigeria. Nigerians don’t deserve to miss out of the World Cup after back to back failure to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations."

Chelsea benefit from Nigeria’s short-comings. The Blues would be in a tight spot if Victor Moses spent the next two months on international duty.

If Nigeria were playing in the tournament, Mikel almost certainly would have stayed with Chelsea. Few clubs would purchase a player who would be unavailable for his first two months. Chelsea would lose nothing by having Mikel on the books but in Gabon with the Super Eagles.

Mikel John Obi is an indispensable part of the Nigerian side. He is their captain, leader and legend. Once he saw the writing on the wall for his career at Chelsea, he focused his thoughts on what he could do to improve his national team.

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Many fans will be reassured that Mikel’s did not make his decision based entirely on Chinese money. His desire to play both for club and country influenced his move. Chelsea fans can look forward to him (and Moses) thriving in Nigerian green in the next round of World Cup qualifiers.

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